Cam mechanism for knitting-machines.



' H. SWINGLEHURST.

CAM MECHANISM FOR KNITTING MACHINES.-

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 4.1912.

I 1,218,335. Patented Mar. 6, 1917.

I INTVENTOF? HARRY swmcLEHuRsT BY HIS ATTORNEY WILLIAMS, INCORPORATED, OF CAMDEN, NEW JERSEY, A

JERSEY.

Specification of Letters Patent.

CORPORATION OF NEW CAM MECHANISM FOR KNITTING-MACHINES.

Patented Mar. 6, 1917..

Application filed June 4, 1912. Serial No. 701,536.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HARRY SWINGLE- HURsT, a citizen of the United States, residing in Roxbury, Massachusetts, have invented certain Improvements in Cam Mechanisms for Knitting-Machines, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to knitting machines such as .are employed for automatically knitting, so-called seamless hosiery and has-for its main object an arrangement and method of operating the stitch cams whereby the slidable latch needles are reciprocated in the cylinder of the machine, so that the needles may be readily passed to and maintained at the proper level for effecting the transfer of stitches from the usual point ring to the hooked ends of the slidable needles.

My invention also includes a novel form of cam for guarding the mouths of certain channels in the cam way, so that the butts of the needles are prevented from entering said channels, and also includes acertain novel method of mounting the slidable center cam with the view of increasing the strength and reliability of such mounting,

and also certain novel constructions whereby individual members of the cam system are controlled.

My invention may be readily understood upon reference to the accompanyin drawing, which represents suflicient of a nitting machine of the type to which my invention relates to illustrate those portions, of the machine to which my invention is especially directed. In the drawing Figure 1 represents a top or plan view of certain of the needle actuating cams of the machine;

Fig. 2 is a face view of said cams;

Fig. 3 is a vertical sectional view taken on the line aa, Fig. 1;

Fig. at is a view, partly in elevation, and partly in transverse section on the line bb, Fig. 1;

Fig. 5' is a view, partly in elevation, and partly in transverse section on the line c-c, Fig. 1, and

Figs. 6 and 7 are View illustrating the action of the guard cam constituting one of the features of my invention.

In all prior machines with which I am familiar when the terminal stitches of a section of ribbed or other fabric, such as a ribbed top for half hose,-are placed upon the needles of the seamless stocking ma- .chine, inorder to knit thereto the leg, heel,

foot and toe, it is necessary for the operator to exercise great care that said terminal stitches are held down so that the latches of the needles may pass therethrough as the first few courses are being formed, for, while the Web holders serve this purpose during the subsequent knitting, the said Web holders cannot so serve for the initial course because the terminal stitches of the ribbed top or other knitted section are not entered into the throats of the said web holders. I

In many prior machines provision is made for placingv all of the needles at certain convenient levels, so that the quill or'point. r ng containing the terminal stitches of a ribbed top or other web may more readily be causeduto deliver said stitches to the needles. If, however, the needles are not posltively maintained at these levels or if, throughout the circle, a break or depression of any considerable length occurs in the supporting ledge, great difiiculty is experienced" comparatively long-gaps are caused by the withdrawal of said cams, and no provision is made for entering the terminal stitches of the ribbed top into the throats of the web holders before the initial course is formed on the knitting needles.

In order to overcome these objections I employ a system of cams clearly shown in Figs. 1 and 2, and comprising oppositely disposed stitch cams 1 and 2, side cams 3 and'i, fixed center cams 5 and sliding center cams 6, all of which, as-a group, form a channel of a shape quite common in the art for the passage of the butts of the needles. All of these cams are mounted .in a cam ring 7 which may be revoluble or stationary,

depending upon the type of machine involved. My improved cam structure, however, difiers in several important particulars from those ofprior machines. In the first place, the stitch cams 1 and 2 are arranged to be adjustable separately and independently of each other. Each of said cams 1 and 2 has an outwardly projecting stem 1 or 2, mounted so as to be free to slide radially in a grooved guide 8, which is rigidly mounted upon the angular face of a supporting bed 10 on the cam ring.

I will now describe the action of the stitch cams in order to make'clear their relation to the needles before, during and after the transfer operation. The butts of all of the needles which are not within the range of the cam system rest upon the ledge 13 which is so disposed as to maintain the needles at the tuck point. Prior to the application of the transfer ring both ofthe stitch cams 1 and 2 are withdrawn and the butts of all of the needles are in the same plane as theledge 13.- The center cam 5, however, is not withdrawn with the stitch cams 1 and 2 but serves to support the butts of the needles throughout its extent, whereby, instead of presenting one long gap in which the needles are not supported my machine presents two short gaps and the effect is the same in respect to the application of the point ring as if no gaps existed.

Assuming that the needles are traveling, in respect to the cams, in the direction of the arrow 00, Fig. 2, the stitch cam 2 may now be restored to action, so that the needles, with the terminal stitches of the ribbed web in their hooks, may be drawn down by said cam, with the result that the hooks of the needles will carry said terminal stitches down upon the web-holders, and as the latter are in the ordinary course of the knitting operation thrown inward at this point said stitches will be carried within the throats of the web holders. At the neXt revolution of the machine the stitch cam 1 may be restored to the active position, so that the needles will be cleared thereby, and, yarn being fed to the hooks of the needles before they are drawn down by the stitch cam 2, the initial stitches of the new web will be drawn through the terminal stitches of the applied web and thereafter knitting will proceed in the ordinary manner.

In some prior machines both stitch cams are mounted along with the center cams on a block movable toward and from the center of the machine, but, when the cams thus mounted are withdrawn, a wide gap is produced, and, as said cams are not capable of being independently moved the terminal stitches to be transferred cannot be brought within the throats of the web holders.

In my improved cam system the sliding center cam 6 is mounted in a novel manner,

with the view of increasing the strength and stability of such mounting. This cam is free to slide back and-forth on the central post 11 of the cam ring, and during the reciprocating movements of the machine it does thus slide back and forth under the pressure of the needle butts as the direction of movement of the needle cylinder or cam ring changes on each reciprocation. I-Ieretofore it has been the custom to form in this cam a longitudinal slotfor the reception of a supporting pin or pins projecting from the cam ring. This slot, however, was necessarily almost as long as the cam was wide, and in consequence the cam was weakened between the ends of the slots and the working edges of the cam.

In order to overcome this objection I provide in the top of the post 11 a groove 12 for the reception of a lip 15 on the cam 6, this lip snugly fitting the groove and being retained in position therein by means of a cap plate 16 which is secured to the top of the post 11 and overlaps the sliding cam 6, as shown in Fig. 3. By this means all weakening of the cam faces is prevented and a rigid support for the cam is provided without detracting from its freedom to slide to and fro under the stress of contact with the butts of the needles.

I have also provided a novel form of guard cam for closing the upper ends of the cam way formed between the stitch cam 1 and the side cam 3, or between the stitch cam 2 and the side cam 4. Each of these guard cams consists of a blade 20 which is mounted so as to lie parallel with the angle of the cam way, as shown in Fig. 4, and is pivoted in a suitably disposed block 21 so that its free end can swing transversely of the cam way, as shown in Fig. 1, a suitable spring 22 being employed to maintain the cam 20 in its position to close the end of the cam way, as shown in Fig. 6. The butts of the needles approaching the stitch cam 1 from the ledge 13 in the direction of the arrow 00, Fig. 2, will therefore pass over the back of the cam 20 and onto the back of the cam 1 to be raised thereby and subsequently depressed by the cam 6 and the stitch cam 2. As the butts rise through the cam way between the stitch cam 2 and the side cam 4, however, they strike the under side of the guard cam 20 and push the same laterally out of the cam way, as shown in Fig. 7.

It will, of course, be understood that in inserting the stitch cams 1 and 2 advantage is taken of the high and low butt needles employed in the modern seamless hosiery machine, that is to say, when a cam is to be inserted it is first passed in part way while the low butt needles are passing it so as to miss taking the low butts, but so that it will take the high butts, and while it is acting butts.

controlling it.

The outwardly extending stem of each of the stitch cams has a projecting pin 25 which passes through a slot in the guide 8 and enters a slot in a lever 26 mounted upon a pivot pin 27 on said guide 8, as shown in Fig. 5.

The outer end of each of the levers 26 is acted upon by a spring 28 tending to so move the lever as to project the stitch cam controlled thereby into operative relation with the needles. Either stitch cam can, however, be withdrawn to inoperative, position by inward pressure applied to the lever I have not deemed it necessary ,to show or describe connections and devices for automatically operating the stitch cams inasmuch as it will be apparent that any well known mechanism may be employed for this purpose without departing from the spirit of my invention, nor is it necessary that the cams shall be withdrawn along diamet'rical lines, as it is obvious that they may be withdrawn in any other desired manner -so long as they are capable of being withdrawn separately and independently.

I claim:

1. The combination, in a knitting machine, of a ledge for supporting the needles,-

said ledge having two relatlvely narrow gaps therein with intervening section of said ledge, a pair'of stitch cams occupying said gaps, and means, independent of the needles, for separately and independently moving said cams into and out of operative relation with the needles, whereby after 40 stitches have been transferred to the projected needles, said stitches may, by the action of one cam upon the needles, be retracted to retaining position before the needles have, by the action of the other cam, been projected to clearing position.-

2. The combination, in a knitting machine, of a ledge for supporting the needles at the tuck point, said ledge having two relatively narrow gaps therein and an interposed section of said ledge, a pair of stitch cams occupying said gaps, and means, independent of the needles, for separately and independently moving said cams into and out of operative relation with the needles, whereby, after stitches have been transferred to the projected needles, said stitches I may, by the action of one cam upon the needles, be retracted to retaining position before the needles have, by the action of the other cam, been projected to clearing position.

3. The combination, in a knitting machine, of a ledge for supporting the needles at the tuck point, said ledge having two relatively narrow gaps therein, and an interposed section of said ledge, a pair of stitch cams occupying said gaps and each constructed to depress needles approaching the face of the cam and raise needles approaching the back of the cam, and means independent of the needles for separately and independently moving said stitch cams into and out of operative relation with the needles, whereby after stitches have .been

transferred to the projected needles, said stitches may, by the action of one cam upon the needles, be retracted to retaining position before the needles have, by the action of the other cam, been projected to clearing position.

4. The combination, in a knitting machine, of a pair of separated stitch cams, an interposed cam movable so as to direct the needles to either of said stitch cams, a cam-carrying member, a downwardly projecting lip on the cam, an upwardly projecting lip on the cam carrying member, and means for retaining said lipsin engagement with one another.

5. The combination, in a knitting machine, of a stitch cam, a cam cooperating therewith to form a channel for the passage of the needle butts, a guard cam entering the mouth of said channel and serving to bridge the same for the passage of needle butts from the cooperating cam to the stitch cam, said guard cam presenting an inclined face to the needle butts traversing the channel, and means for mounting said guard cam so that it can swing transversely into the channel, and can also swing transversely out of the same under the action of the needle butts on said inclined face of the cam.

In testimony whereof, I have signed my name to this specification, in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

HARRY SWINGLEHURST.

Witnesses:

ELSIE FULLERTON, HAMILTON D. TURNER. 

